Music |
Rosanne Cash
By
Published: Jan 01, 2006
Category:
Country
It starts with Johnny Cash’s voice: "Rosanne, c’mon."
And then these lyrics: "It was a black Cadillac/that drove you away." The black keeps coming. "It was a black Cadillac/like you used to drive." And "it’s a black heart of pain that I’m wearing." Happily, the music chugs along in a jauntier gear, first guitars, then organ, then horns. Experts say there’s a quote from "Ring of Fire" — one of Johnny’s big hits — toward the end. But it’s the words that hammer the point of loss home: "It’s a lonely world/I guess it always was/minus you/minus blood."
If you love music — particularly the music of this country, which is the music of the working man and the unheralded, the music of the Man in Black — you can’t hear this song without missing Johnny Cash and wishing his soul godspeed. And feeling some gratitude to Johnny’s daughter for the tug on the heartstrings.
Or you could look at it another way and say "Black Cadillac" is just a bit exploitative — after all, it hit the stores a month or so after "Walk the Line" kicked off the latest Johnny Cash revival. Rosanne may be a terrific singer-songwriter, but she’s not Faith Hill. She’s an acquired taste; her CDs sell to those who like their country with a big overlay of literary artistry and big city production. This CD was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get real airplay and promotion.
Or you could just say this CD was inevitable. Just look at the tsunami of death that rolled her way. Her stepmother, June Carter Cash, died in 2003. Her father died that September. And her mother, Johnny’s first wife, died in May of 2005. Of course she’s going to write songs about her family’s house on a Tennessee lake and what survives the grave.
There’s something quite spooky and lovely about this CD. Yes, she recorded these songs after Johnny and June died — but she wrote most of them before any of her loved ones crossed the finish line. The title song? Rosanne says she wrote it six weeks before June died. She wasn’t even aware June was ill. "It’s a message from the unconscious."
I’ll buy this. Ezra Pound said, "The artist is the antenna of the race." Which is why we would do well to pay close attention to our artists — they’re our early-warning system. What they feel now, we’ll feel later.
In the case of Rosanne Cash, there is every reason to be interested both in her deeply touching music and her bracing philosophy. The songs are simple, with images few and far between; this is a CD of directly expressed emotions. The music itself is pristine and subtle; hiding under chords that will be labeled "country" is a very steady rock band. You could file this CD in either bin.
Rosanne Cash has been at this for almost 30 years — she can write a catchy hook. But when it comes to the lyrics, she’s a prophet. In "Black Cadillac," a woman who doesn’t know what to believe in — an impatient, questioning woman who has no respect for easy answers and pre-packaged formulas — swallows a mountain of loss. And processes it. And comes out — astonishingly — on the side of faith and love and a longing for connection so great it defeats death.
The way out is the way through. "God is in the roses — and the thorns." "When it all falls apart, there is love." Rosanne Cash places her bet firmly on "the world unseen." She’s going to "sail off on the Good Intent." That’s a lot of belief for a woman who has no religion.
I hesitate to say that "Black Cadillac" is the best thing Rosanne Cash has ever done — what came before is nothing to scoff at. So let’s put it this way: "Black Cadilac" is about a thousand times better than the best thing a lot of other singer-songwriters have done. And no one could have done it but Rosanne Cash.
To buy "Black Cadillac" from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy "The Very Best of Rosanne Cash" from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy "King’s Record Shop" from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy "Bodies of Water: Short Fiction" from Amazon.com, click here.
For Rosanne Cash’s website, click here
